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Quote, Unquote

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Quote, Unquote: the French Platform for small-scale low impact fishers voice their concerns about how fisheries are managed in France.

 

Brussels, 10th of May 2016

LIFE Platform

Brian O’Riordan

 

This article is adapted from an article that appeared in Le Marin “Forum” 22.04.2016 http://www.lemarin.fr/secteurs-activites/peche/25102-critique-dun-systeme-de-gestion-inadapte-la-petite-peche?_=1461345037035, written by three co-Chairs of the Platforme, Anne Marie Vergez, a Basque fisher, Gwen Pennarun, a Brittany fisher, and Frédéric Reste, a fisher from the Mediterranean.

For more details see http://www.plateforme-petite-peche.fr/

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France, like many EU Member States, has administrative and management systems that are ill suited to the needs of the small scale fisheries sector. Despite much promise, two years on, the implementation of the CFP has so far failed to deliver tangible benefits for fishers who have chosen to fish ways that limit their impacts on the environment, who want to combine traditional small scale fishing ways with modern technology and decent working conditions, and who want to support the local communities in which they are rooted.

Despite the lack of delivery to date, LIFE is optimistic that Article 17 does provide the possibility to reward those who fish sustainably, so long as the political will is there to apply its provisions in the spirit as well as in the letter of the law.

The authors of the article below speak not only for themselves and for the French Platform for Small Scale Artisanal Fisheries, but for small scale fishers across Europe who share their worries and frustrations. Their concerns are very much our concerns.

The French Platform of Small Scale Artisanal Fisheries, a founder member of LIFE, represents fishermen from the French Atlantic facing coasts and from the Mediterranean. The Platform was launched in June 2012 by a group of associations representing 500 fishers.

The Platform was set up to defend the under 12 metre fleet segment that uses predominantly passive fishing methods. Despite the importance of this fleet segment, it is often marginalised, treated unfairly, not given proper consideration by the authorities, and not given sufficient space within professional organizations.

The aim of the Platform is not to fight against vessels over 12 meters. The complementarity of small scale and large scale activities is recognized and respected by the Platform, which considers that fleet diversity is important for the economic and social wellbeing of both fishing harbours and the sector as a whole.

Of course there are points of contention, and we may disagree on a number of issues. However, like the Platform, LIFE contends that the management of small scale fisheries require a differentiated approach, and that measures are needed to ensure that a balance is maintained between small-scale fishing and other fleet segments, and the small scale low impact segment can thrive.

LIFE identifies with, and wholeheartedly embraces these objectives and views.

In France, as in other European countries, there are many hurdles to setting up as a small scale owner operator. First of all, it is necessary to obtain the PME (Fishing Vessel License). Then a plethora of permits must be obtained, including AEP (European Fishing License), licenses for gears, and licenses for different species like bass, shellfish, sole etc. For bass, no more licenses are available for fishers using hooks, despite this being the most responsible fishing method as far as the resource and the marine environment are concerned, and on which hundreds of fishers depend. Their contribution to the overexploitation of the species is minute compared to the pelagic trawl fleet, where the number of licenses has remained unchanged.

And then there’s the painful question of quotas; a management tool much feared – and with reason – by small scale fishers. It is applied through a mechanism – based on catch history – that is deeply unfair. It rewards those who fish the most, whilst overlooking those who practice low impact fishing.

LIFE and the French Platform both denounce the current distribution system of quotas and its many perverse effects. Last December in France, the Competition Authority raised concerns on how quota is distributed among fishermen, the anti-competitive nature of the practices, the opaque allocation and management mechanisms, particularly in the POs (Producer Organizations).

The quota allocation system for Bluefin tuna graphically illustrates these concerns, with almost all the quota allowances reserved for purse seiners, pelagic trawlers or large longliners. This system should be fully reviewed in order to establish a distribution system based on environmental, social and economic criteria, as set out in Article 17 of the reformed CFP.

Some EU regulations include special provisions that favour small boats, by exempting them from certain fishing authorizations. However, in the case of access to cod in some areas, the exemption for vessels under 10 metres has been overturned by the professional organizations. Instead they have imposed a European Vessel Licence (AEP) on vessels under 10 meters, which penalizes them heavily. The French Platform also strongly objects to the unequal charges levied on small boats compared to large boats. Our sector is the main contributor, but not the primary beneficiary.

Then there is the administrative straitjacket, where bureaucratic requirements are not at all adapted to the constraints of small-scale fisheries. These include safety requirements, the need for life-rafts, the system for weighing the landings, manning levels, direct sales, and so on. It’s a real burden for small scale owner operators.

We are not asking for the exemption of small fishing from all management measures. However, we denounce a management system that is inappropriate. We depend on the areas where we fish – our fishing territories. We need to target the species found in our immediate vicinity, distributing our effort, based on a logic that is not to maximize profit.

It’s a philosophy and a socioeconomic model that the current system constantly undermines. There is nothing more absurd for us than having to avoid catching bluefin tuna that abounds all around us, or to discard it dead, and then having to travel great distances to find fish that we are allowed to catch.

Our critics contend that “if we followed your demands, then the coastal zone would simply fill up with vessels”. But we already find large ships on the coast, notably supertrawlers, other trawlers and 24 metre longliners, which thanks to derogations can operate within the 3-mile zone. All we are asking is that the maritime space be shared amongst vessels according to their size, and for the rules applied to be respected and strictly controlled. Our small vessels will never go far out enough to compete with vessels of 20 or 25 meters.

Similarly, we continually hear officials congratulating themselves on the sound state of stocks. But which stocks they talking about? Bass? Red seabream? Black bream? All these species are far from well managed. Many fishers will tell you how red seabream was decimated by high opening trawls, and how black bream has virtually disappeared in some places because of pelagic trawling. We call for a comprehensive scientific assessment, but are under no illusions that this will happen any time soon.

In the Mediterranean, too, there is an urgent need for progress to be made to improve the state of resources. But when addressing the problem, sports fishing (which is totally unregulated), pollution and coastal urbanization must also be factored in. Better recognition of the roles of prudhommies, ancient secular management bodies, should also be included in the equation. It is by strengthening theses indispensable institutions that we can make progress in fisheries management in the Mediterranean.

We had placed certain hopes in the new CFP, particularly concerning the provisions of Article 17. This article requires Member States to allocate quota using transparent and objective criteria, and to favour fishing vessels “deploying selective fishing gear or using fishing techniques with reduced environmental impact, such as reduced energy consumption or habitat damage.”

But where are these famous criteria that each state is supposed to define and implement? We fear that Danish seines and electric trawls may be the ones to eventually benefit from the misapplication of these environmental and social criteria.

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Blue Growth Razzmatazz: time for a reality check.

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growth

Blue Growth Razzmatazz: time for a reality check.

Brussels, 26 April 2016

Brian O’Riordan

LIFE Platform

Blue Growth is the new snake oil of the world economy. It is being promoted as the miracle cure for stagnant growth, overexploited and dwindling resources, and insufficient food on dry land in the context of ever increasing needs of a rapidly growing world population. In the absence of a “Planet B”, Blue Growth provides a glimmer of hope.

The idea of the Blue Economy came out of the 2012 Rio + 20 process under the auspices of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development – building on the 1992 Earth Summit. Advocated for principally by Small Island Development States (SIDS), it is rooted in the Green Economy, which in turn is seen as vital for “achieving sustainable development, to contribute to eradicating poverty as well as sustained economic growth, enhancing social inclusion, improving human welfare and creating opportunities for employment and decent work for all, while maintaining the healthy functioning of the Earth’s ecosystems” (from Para 56. The future we want. UNCSD 2012 http://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/rio20_outcome_document_complete.pdf).

The potential of the seas and oceans – the Blue Economy – to meet sustainable development needs is enormous; but only if they can be maintained in and/or restored to a healthy, and productive state.

However, LIFE is concerned that amid all the hype and razzmatazz, sight is being lost of the fact that Blue Growth has huge implications for fisheries, be they small or large in scale. Blue Growth only takes an interest in those sectors which exhibit growth potential – and it sees the fishery sector as one in decline. At the same time, the economic sectors targeted by Blue Growth include many that will encroach on the spaces traditionally occupied by fisheries, and which will undoubtedly have an impact on the resources on which fishery activities depend. These include industrial scale aquaculture, ocean energy, and seabed mining.

Although maritime spatial planning is included as an “essential component”, more attention is needed to ensure that the European Blue Growth strategy seeks coherence and complementarity with the CFP. If not the CFP will be overwhelmed by the tsunami of Blue Growth.

LIFE also asserts that Blue Growth should not be a license for business as usual and more of the same “brown” development. Up to now oceans have been treated as a means of free resource extraction and waste dumping, and environmental and social costs have been externalised from economic calculations. Blue Growth is a call for fundamental change; ongoing trends in the exploitation and degradation of marine and coastal ecosystems show that endeavours to date have been insufficient and that more needs to be and must be done quickly. The huge amounts of marine debris building up in the oceans, especially plastics, demands urgent action. This was highlighted in a speech last year by Commissioner Vella, delivered to the Microplastics conference in Brussels on 12 May, 2015   https://ec.europa.eu/commission/2014-2019/vella/announcements/eliminating-plastic-and-microplastic-pollution-urgent-need_en. Addressing the problem must go beyond paying fishermen to become litter collectors at sea.

Along with Blue Growth razzmatazz, LIFE is also concerned that large, private and non-governmental organizations are investing in the Blue Economy, and taking on the roles traditionally occupied by States.

Increasingly States are ceding land and marine concessions to large environmental NGOs, which are often set up as “Trusts”. These NGOs then manage the environmental reserves ceded to them on behalf of the States. These NGOs, whose activities are often financed by transnational corporations, then decide by themselves – without any democratic control – environmental actions to be undertaken. Local communities and citizens are often uninformed about these projects or kept out of managing these environmental reserves. Whilst the fight to combat climate change has in large part been entrusted by States to large environmental NGOs, and for various reasons transnational corporations finance these NGOs, the question now arises as to how what is often referred to as the “environmental industry” is regulated.

At the same time, international banks, private equity funds and other financial players seeking new areas for investment, are speculating on the oceans through carbon trading, debt for nature swaps and other such schemes.

The need to reign in this environmental industry, and to make it accountable and transparent was recently highlighted by Professor Gilles Lhuilier in “Le Marin” http://www.lemarin.fr/secteurs-activites/environnement/24995-initiative-pour-la-transparence-dans-les-ong.

Blue Growth and small scale fisheries was also one of the main themes of the recent Regional Conference on “Building a future for sustainable small-scale fisheries in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea” organized by the GFCM and the FAO in collaboration with the Algerian Government –  http://www.fao.org/gfcm/meetings/ssfconference2016/en/.

The Consultant presenting the case for Blue Growth highlighted that in order to be included in the rush for Blue Growth, fisheries would need to demonstrate how they can maximize their contribution to the economy and to growth, and to “reposition” themselves accordingly. This would require he said a) applying a “use right” system to achieve economic efficiency, and b) generating an “investible surplus” that could be invested in growth.

The CFP reform process brought to the fore the way the traditional use rights of the fishery sector and of fishing communities, and their access to fisheries has been eroded over time. Such traditional rights and access in Europe, as in many other areas of the world, have been replaced by private and tradable rights. This has transformed resources that were previously public into privately owned quotas, concentrated into fewer and fewer hands.

By contrast, the FAO’s approach through its Blue Growth Initiative (BGI) offers some hope. The BGI aims at building the resilience of coastal communities and restoring the productive potential of fisheries and aquaculture, in order to support food security, poverty alleviation and sustainable management of living aquatic resources.

Blue Growth and small scale fisheries, far from being incompatible, are entirely complimentary. But for such complementarity to be effectively transformed into a “win-win” situation, greater attention needs to be paid to safeguarding the fishing rights of small scale fisheries, and providing them with secure and priority access to their traditional fishing areas.

Implementing Article 17 of the CFP could go a long way in this regard.

 

 

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Crisis in the Mediterranean: Small Scale Fisheries must be included as part of the solution.

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Medmare

Crisis in the Mediterranean: Small Scale Fisheries

must be included as part of the solution.

 

Brussels, 20 april 2016

By Brian O’Riordan, Deputy Director

Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE)

 

“Our patient is ill, but still breathing. The diagnosis is serious, but there is still hope.” From Commissioner Vella’s Opening Speech in Catania 9 February 2016, High level seminar on the Status of the Stocks in the Mediterranean and on the CFP Approach.

“Concerted effort needed to ensure that best practice become standard practices in small scale fisheries” – conclusion of GFCM Regional Conference on Small Scale Fisheries.

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The Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE) contend that if Mediterranean fisheries are to recover from their current crisis, small scale fisheries have to be included as a central part of the remedy.

Any solution to the crisis in the Mediterranean must be built around small scale fisheries, as this sector provides the social and economic backbone of fishing communities.

The oversight of the Spanish Government to include representatives from the small scale sector in their recent consultation with the fisheries sector, environmentalists, scientists and regional authorities must be remedied. Meeting in Madrid on April 7 to lay out details of its draft plan for the recovery of Mediterranean fisheries, the Fisheries Secretariat of the Ministry for Agriculture, Food and the Environment failed either to acknowledge the strategic importance of small scale fisheries to the success of such a plan, they also failed to invite representatives from the sector.

The Spanish plan is in preparation for a Ministerial conference in Brussels, hosted by DG Mare, on April 27, to coincide with the European Seafood Show (now called Seafood Expo Global). The meeting is spurred by the fishery crisis in the Mediterranean, and is the next step following the two day “high level seminar” on the state of stocks in the Mediterranean that took place in Catania, Sicily earlier this year. It will include Fisheries Ministers from all the countries bordering the Mediterranean, with the aim of agreeing on the actions necessary to address the crisis in the Mediterranean. Proposals from this conference will be taken to the 40th Session of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), the Regional Fisheries Management Organization (RFMO) for the Mediterranean and Black Sea, on 30 May.

The importance of small scale coastal fisheries (SSCF) in the Mediterranean is highlighted by the 2014 Annual Economic Report on the EU Fishing Fleet by the Scientific and Technical Committee on Fisheries (STEFC). This finds that, according to the available data, for the Mediterranean & Black Sea fleet, the small scale fleet (SSF) possessed 69% of the fleet in number and accounted for 67% of the effort but provided jobs for only 51% of the total employed. In terms of production, the SSF landed only 13% in weight but 23% in value; overall generating 27% of the revenue.

Whilst emphasising the important social and economic weight of the sector, these figures also highlight the huge gap in the available data on landings. Any visitor to a Mediterranean fishing port will be impressed by the quantity of small boats, the quantities of fish they collectively land, and the availability of fresh locally caught fish in the nearby restaurants and retail outlets. Clearly their contribution to landings is higher than available data shows.

Mediterranean wide, according to the General Commission for Fisheries in the Mediterranean – the GFCM –  SSCF “constitute over 80 percent of the fishing fleet, employ at least 60 percent of total on-vessel fishing labour and account for approximately 25 percent of the total landing value from capture fisheries in the region. At their best, small-scale fisheries exemplify sustainable resource use: exploiting living marine resources in a way that minimizes environmental degradation while maximizing economic and social benefits. Concerted effort is needed to ensure that best practices become standard practice.”

Small scale low impact activities using passive gears applied in a non-intensive and seasonally polyvalent manner also provide a ready-made solution to the problems of overfishing and environmental degradation caused by larger scale intensive, industrial fishery activities. Of course, considerable environmental impact is also being caused by the unrestricted use of small-meshed monofilament gillnets, and the associated effects of ghost fishing. Such irresponsible practices must be halted, in the same way that irresponsible industrial practices must be halted.

LIFE also contends that Article 17 of the CFP (“Basic Regulation” (EU) No 1380/2013) has an important role to play in favouring more sustainable ways of fishing, based on smaller scale, low impact fishing methods. Article 17, designed to promote responsible and socially beneficial fishing, obliges States to use transparent and objective criteria including those of an environmental, social and economic nature when allocating the fishing opportunities available to them. It also encourages States to provide incentives to fishing vessels deploying selective fishing gear or using fishing techniques with reduced environmental impact, such as reduced energy consumption or habitat damage.

At a meeting organized by LIFE in Athens on 28 November 2015, smaller scale fishers and their representative organisations from Greece, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, France and Spain demanded a greater voice in the development of fisheries policy at national and European levels. The meeting highlighted the need for the creation of long term plans as an integral element of the more dynamic and effective management of Mediterranean fisheries. Fishers also highlighted the need to reduce and then eventually eliminate pollution in the Mediterranean due to its a very significant adverse effect on coastal fisheries and the wider marine environment

However, although fishery activities undoubtedly have a significant impact on fish stocks and on the marine habitats essential for fishery production, it would be incorrect to lay the entire blame for the fishery crisis in the Mediterranean on fishing alone. The Mediterranean is a semi-enclosed sea, and highly vulnerable to the impacts of human activities. Including Gibraltar and Monaco there are 23 countries bordering the Mediterranean, and the impacts of industrial and domestic sources of pollution are considerable, as are the impacts of port, shipping, and offshore oil and gas exploration and extraction, and the actual and potential impacts of climate change (including acidification, increases in extreme weather, sea level rise, warming of the sea etc.).

The Mediterranean also has a notorious reputation for illegal (IUU) fishing. Sometimes this is carried out under the guise of “sports fishing”, the impact of which is considerable. In addition, due to the complex nature of national maritime boundaries and inadequate monitoring, control and enforcement, much illegal, unregulated and unreported fishery activity takes place beyond national boundaries. In many cases these extend out to only 12 miles. There is also a lack of harmonized policies between EU Member States and other Mediterranean countries, hence the need for action at the RFMO level, in the GFCM.

The question also arises as to what extent fishery specific measures can be used to restore fish stocks and the marine environment, and to what extent a raft of much wider measures is needed. For example, MSY is unlikely to be achieved solely by applying such fishery specific measures as closed seasons, fleet capacity reductions, technical measures to reduce the impact of fishing gears, etc. Unless environmental degradation caused by pollutants, marine debris (including plastics), by acidification from increasing CO2 levels etc. is addressed, fish stocks will not be able to rebuild themselves to pre-crisis levels.

Except for professional fisheries, all traditional sectors of Mediterranean maritime economy such as tourism, shipping, aquaculture and offshore oil and gas are expected to keep growing during the coming 15 years. Comparatively new or emerging sectors such as renewable energy, seabed mining and biotechnology are expected to grow even faster, although there is greater uncertainty concerning these developments and their expected impacts on marine ecosystem.

For sure, the road to recovery will be paved with a complex array of difficulties. However, unless policy makers include small scale fisheries and the stakeholders from the sector in their plans and consultations, it will be a rocky road to nowhere.

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European Parliament Calls for a Regional Approach to Small Scale Fisheries

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Parlement_2

European Parliament Calls for a Regional Approach to Small Scale Fisheries, for the fair allocation and gradual increase of quotas to small‑scale fishing 

 

Brussels, 18 April 2016

LIFE Platform

 

On Tuesday 12 April, at their plenary session in Strasbourg, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on “innovation and diversification of small-scale coastal fishing in fisheries-dependent regions (2015/2090(INI))”. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P8-TA-2016-0109+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN

The Rapporteur, Croatian Euro-deputy Ruža Tomašić, highlighted that a new regionalized framework was needed for small scale coastal fisheries in order to take account of the specificities of different fisheries regions. Citing the example of the Mediterranean, Tomašić emphasised the need to abandon the one size fits all approach that has characterized the CFP to date.

LIFE completely agrees with, and has been calling for such an approach since it was founded in 2012. Such a differentiated approach is the only way to halt the erosion of fishing rights and the demise of small scale fisheries. We take on board Mr Vella’s comment that a “regionalised approach to the definition could have some merit but would also risk creating an uneven playing field.”

However, a regionalised approach to defining small scale fisheries need not alter the EMFF definition. Rather, for example, Regional MAPs and the technical measures adopted by them would take greater account of different craft gear combinations in the smaller scale non-towed gear categories. This could be in the form of derogations, or specific technical measures to be applied to the passive gear fleet segments.

In LIFE’s view the implementation of Tomasic’s report would go a long way to righting many of the wrongs dealt out to the small scale fisheries sector, and create a fairer and more level playing field.

Responding to the initiative, Commissioner Vella observed that “it is a fact that small-scale coastal fishing vessels are fundamental for the viability and resilience of coastal communities dependent on them, and I fully agree with that view.”

The Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE) congratulates Madame Tomašić for her report, and the European Parliament for adopting it. The report endorses LIFE’s contention that the specificities of small scale coastal fisheries require a differentiated approach, and that such fisheries are best defined at local level, within a regional framework.

Commissioner Vella rightly highlighted that in the European Union at least 3 out of 4 vessels (75%) are characterized as being small in scale, i.e. under 12 metres using non towed gears.

Unlike larger scale, more industrial kinds of fishing operations, these small-scale activities generally have a low impact on the environment, whilst having a high social and economic value providing fresh fish, jobs, and supporting economic and cultural activities locally.

However, LIFE fully agrees with Commissioner Vella that the fleet needs regulating, and that further relaxing regulatory requirements on small-scale coastal fishing risks encouraging fishing by additional vessels and could worsen crowding in the coastal band, especially in areas where there is already a lot of pressure on regulated and unregulated stocks.

LIFE notes with concern that there are significant regulatory loopholes through which illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing passes in the guise of sports fishing. These loopholes need closing.

Since the Common Fisheries Policy was launched in 1983, the small scale sector has been neglected, marginalised and treated unfairly. For this reason, this fleet segment of often referred to as Europe’s “Forgotten Fleet”. Over the last 20 years, this segment of the fleet has declined the most, in some instances by as much as 40 to 50% since 1995.

Successive CFPs dating back to 1983 have tended to focus on larger scale fisheries, leaving national authorities to deal with smaller scale fisheries. With notable exceptions, national authorities have also tended to neglect smaller scale fisheries, and this has resulted in unfair treatment compared to larger scale fisheries (in terms of fishing access rights, access to markets, access to decision taking etc.).

Until the most recent review and reform of the European Union’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), the management of small scale fisheries was considered to be a national issue. The “Green Paper” consultation initiated in 2009 questioned whether or not the CFP should adopt a differentiated approach to the management of fisheries: one approach for small scale fleets in coastal communities with a focus on social objectives, and another for large-scale fleets, with capacity adjustment and economic efficiency at the core.

Although this suggestion was not incorporated into the new CFP, it was endorsed by the European Parliament, which proposed a comprehensive range of measures to defend and promote the small-scale sector.

LIFE welcomes the fact that the financial instrument for implementing the CFP, the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF  – (EU) No 508/2014), as well as the Market Regulation ((EU) No 1379/2013 ), and the Regulation for the Advisory Councils (Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/242) all contain provisions which positively discriminate in favour of small scale fisheries.

However, as noted by Commissioner Vella, the implementation of these measures depends on Member States; that it is their responsibility to decide, under the respective operational programmes approved in late 2015, how to translate their strategic preferences into concrete support to their small-scale coastal fishing fleet.

LIFE calls on Member States to recognize the importance of small scale coastal fleets through specific plans for the modernization of the fleet. LIFE also fully endorses the call of the European Parliament for the quotas allocated to non-industrial fisheries to be increased, in order to boost this socially and ecologically sustainable form of fishing.

In our view the implementation of Article 17 is vital in this regard. Article 17 calls on Member States to “use transparent and objective criteria including those of an environmental, social and economic nature”, when allocating the fishing opportunities available to them. “The criteria to be used may include, inter alia, the impact of fishing on the environment, the history of compliance, the contribution to the local economy and historic catch levels. Within the fishing opportunities allocated to them, Member States shall endeavour to provide incentives to fishing vessels deploying selective fishing gear or using fishing techniques with reduced environmental impact, such as reduced energy consumption or habitat damage.”

Such measures, if applied in the spirit of the Article, would undoubtedly go a long way to providing the affirmative action necessary for small scale fisheries to regain their prominence in European fisheries.

Although many of Mrs Tomasic’s proposals are already contained in the new CFP, her report highlights the inertia in Member States to take the affirmative actions on small scale fisheries proposed, and the need for its full implementation.

 

 

 

 

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WIEŚCI Z POKŁADU

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WIEŚCI Z POKŁADU

Comiesięczny Biuletyn Informacyjny Europejskich Rybaków o Niskim Wpływie na Środowisko

 

WYDARZENIA MIESIĄCA

 

Spotkanie w DG Mare w sprawie kwestii bałtyckich

Czwartego marca LIFE zorganizowało spotkanie w Dyrekcji Generalnej ds. Gospodfoto balticarki Morskiej i Rybołówstwa (DG Mare) w Komisji Europejskiej. Celem było omówienie spraw dotyczących rybactwa na małą skalę na Bałtyku zachodnim. W spotkaniu wziął udział personel brukselskiego biura LIFE, Wolfgang Albrecht (dyrektor LIFE Niemcy), Katarzyna Wysocka (dyrektor LIFE Polska), David Lange i Hanne Lyng Winter (przedstawiciele FSK – Dania, członka LIFE). Spotkanie odbyło się w siedzibie DG Mare i uczestniczyli w nim po stronie Komisji: Bernard, Friess, Dyrektor Dyrekcji C (Atlantyk) i pełniący funkcję Dyrektora Dyrektoriatu E (Bałtyk), oraz jego zespół.

Główne poruszone na spotkaniu tematy to: obecny stan stad, zamknięcie łowiska dorsza, selektywność i przyłów trawlerów, wyłączenia dla połowów przemysłowych, sprawiedliwe traktowanie rybaków niskoskalowych i uczestnictwo rybaków poławiających na małą skalę w Radach Doradczych (RAC). Spotkanie było bardzo obiecujące, a Bernhard Friess zaproponował częstsze wizyty LIFE i jego członków, w celu omawiania ważkich kwestii.

 

Regionalna konferencja GFCM pt. „Budowanie przyszłości zrównoważonych, małoskalowych rybaków na morzu Śródziemnym i Czarnym”

Personel LIFE wziął udział w Regionalnej Konferencji dotyczącej połowów na małą skałę na morzu Śródziemnym i Czarnym, zorganizowanej przez Generalną Komisję Rybołówstwa Morza Śródziemnego (GFCM) w partnerstwie z FAO i rządem algierskim (http://www.fao.org/gfcm/meetings/ssfconference2016/en/ ).  GFCM jest regionalną organizacją ds. rybołówstwa (RFMO) odpowiedzialną za morze Śródziemne i Czarne.

Zapewnianie zrównoważonego rozwoju dla rybaków poławiających na mfoto algeriaałą skalę na morzu Śródziemnym i Błękitny Wzrost (Blue Growth) były głównymi tematami konferencji. Kolejny panel tematyczny objął kwestie współzarządzania, Chronione Obszary Morskie [MPAs], miejsce rybaków poławiających na małą skalę w łańcuchu wartości i wdrożenie Dobrowolnych Wytycznych na rzecz Zapewnienia Zrównoważonego Rozwoju Rybakom Poławiającym na Małą Skalę (Wytyczne SSF). Brian O’Riordan, Wicedyrektor LIFE, był uczestnikiem panelu na temat rybołówstwa na małą skałę. Omówił on „Implikacje zreformowanej WPRyb dla rybaków małoskalowych”. Marta Cavallé, koordynator śródziemnomorski LIFE, udzieliła wywiadu oficjalnemu zespołowi medialnemu.

Spotkanie było także okazją do działań networkingowych LIFE, obejmujących kluczowych decydentów, podmioty międzynarodowe i rybaków z Afryki Północnej, a mających na celu aranżowanie spotkań po to, aby rozwijać naszą strategię ds. morza Śródziemnego.

Spotkanie z rządem Zjednoczonego Królestwa

LIFE pozostaje w bliskich kontaktach z Amberem Ruddem, Sekretarzem Stanu ds. Energii i Zmiany Klimatycznej i członkiem parlamentu z okręgu Hastings i Rye na południowo-wschodnim wybrzeżu, co umożliwiło naszym brytyjskim organizacjom członkowskim; New Under Ten Fishermen’s Association (NUTFA, www.nutfa.org ), Coastal PO ( http://fish.coop/ ) spotkanie z ministrem ds. Żywności, Rolnictwa i Środowiska Morskiego, Georgem Eusticem.

W spotkaniu, które miało miejsce w czwartek, dziesiątego marca, uczestniczył Jerry Percy, Dyrektor Wykonawczy LIFE. Poruszono serię tematów obejmujących ostatnią nieprzychylną decyzję rządu Wielkiej Brytanii w spfoto ukrawie ograniczenia wydawania licencji rybackich dla jednostek dziesięciometrowych i krótszych, które złowiły do 350 kg kwoty danego gatunku podczas okresu odniesieniowego, celem zwalczania  ukryte możliwości w sektorze. Omówiono także także plany w zakresie zarządzania stadami labraksa w odniesieniu do zakresu kwot uzupełniających wprowadzonych przez ministra ds. Rybołówstwa, co było wynikiem działań NUTFA, oraz przepisy dotyczące składu połowu dla floty przybrzeżnej.

Cały czas budzi nasze głębokie niezadowolenie kwestia ukrytych możliwości, poza tym jednak spotkanie miało wydźwięk pozytywny, bowiem minister zaoferował konkretne wsparcie dla Przybrzeżnych Organizacji Producenckich, co jest inicjatywą promowaną obecnie przez wszystkie organizacje, których dotyczyło spotkanie.

Poza wsparciem dla organizacji członkowskiej, spotkanie pomogło LIFE lepiej zrozumieć punkt widzenia administracji jednego z Państw Członkowskich w odniesieniu do tworzenia nadbrzeżnych Organizacji Producenckich. Ta inicjatywa może przynieść potencjalne korzyści dla innych organizacji członkowskich w Europie.

INNE WYDARZENIA W UE

 

  • Dyrektor Wykonawczy LIFE został poproszony przez Zarząd Iascaigh Mhara, zarząd irlandzkiej organizacji rybaków morskich (Irish Sea Fisheries Board) o przedstawienie prezentacji na temat LIFE i swojego doświadczenia dotyczącego działań na rzecz podmiotów rybackich w ramach Irlandzkiego Forum ds. Networkingu przybrzeżnych organizacji rybackich (Irish Inshore Networking Forum). Miało to miejsce w czwartek, trzeciego marca w Galway, w Irlandii. Po spotkaniu, którego wynik był pozytywny, poproszono Dyrektora Wykonawczego, aby przewodniczył sesji kończącej. W czasie pobytu w Irlandii, skorzystano też z okazji, aby odbyć oficjalne spotkanie z irlandzką organizacją członkowską LIFE, Irish Islands Marine Resource Organisation (IIMRO – iimro.org )

  • Tego samego dnia, personel LIFE wziął udział w konferencji „Inteligentne rolnictwo: plony dywidendy cyfrowej w UE” w siedzibie Digital Europe, w Brukseli. Było to okazja do zwiększenia świadomości w sektorze TIK na temat opracowywania narzędzi i usług dla producentów niskoskalowych, w szczególności poprawienia dostępu do łączy szerokopasmowych, po to aby można było opracować nakierowane na rynek aplikacje telefoniczne do zarzadzania produkcją i

  • Podczas gdy większość produkcji rybaków niskoskalowych jest bezpośrednio sprzedawana jako cała, świeża ryba, istnieją potencjalnie możliwości zwiększenia wartości dodanej niektórych gatunków w niektórych obszarach. Dlatego też, Dyrektor Wykonawczy LIFE, Jerry Percy, spotkał się 8 marca z przetwórcą ryb w Dewon, który wykorzystuje tylko ryby poławiane na małą skalę, z poszanowaniem środowiska naturalnego. W spotkaniu uczestniczyli też najwięksi ekologiczni dostawcy brytyjscy w ramach systemu Veg box i miało ono na celu poszerzenie wiedzy z zakresu alternatywnych produktów i łańcuchów dostaw. Wyciągnięte wnioski przysłużą się organizacjom członkowskim, niezależnie od ich położenia.

  • Dyrektor Wykonawczy LIFE wziął udział w wydarzeniu „Blue New Deal” , które odbyło się dziewiątego marca w Londynie i dotyczyło poprawienia odporności wspólnot nadbrzeżnych. Blue New Deal jest inicjatywą promowaną przez Nową Fundację Gospodarczą, której celem jest wzmocnienie mechanizmów gospodarczych brytyjskich wspólnot przybrzeżnych poprzez poprawienie kondycji środowiska morskiego ( bluenewdeal.org ). To kolejny przykład tego, jak LIFE uczy się w oparciu o najlepsze praktyki, które mogą być później powtarzane w całej Europie.

  • Dziesiątego marca, Dyrektor Wykonawczy LIFE wziął udział w spotkaniu projektu C-Bass w Londynie. C-Bass jest projektem współpracy naukowców oceanologów z Francji i Wielkiej Brytanii. Ma na celu bardziej przejrzyste określenie i opisanie biologii, przemieszczania się i tarła różnych gatunków. To jest niezwykle ważne dla operatorów działających na małą skalę, w Wielkiej Brytanii, Holandii i Francji, gdzie te gatunki stanowią podstawę dochodu.

  • LIFE uczestniczyło w dwóch spotkaniach grup roboczych (nt. Odrzutów i gatunków pelagicznych) Śródziemnomorskiej Rady Doradczej MedAc (RAC) 15 i 16 marca. Delegacja objęła przedstawicieli Pescartes, organizacji członkowskiej LIFE z hiszpańskiego wybrzeża morza śródziemnego. Głównymi poruszonymi tematami były okresy zamknięcia łowiska włócznika i wdrożenie obowiązku wyładunku gatunków demersalnych w 2017 roku. LIFE miało możliwość przedstawienia się członkom MedACu.

  • 21go marca LIFE wzięło udział w wysłuchaniu pt. „Nowe ramy Środków Technicznych” zorganizowanym przez Komisję PECH w Parlamencie Europejskim (http://www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/en/pech/members.html). Prawdopodobnie była to pierwsza debata publiczna nt. nowego wniosku Rozporządzenia w sprawie Środków Technicznych. Podkreślono ogólny konsensus interesariuszy, na temat regionalnej perspektywy podejścia w ustalaniu i wdrażaniu środków ochronnych. UE powinna określać ogólne cele, ale decyzje dotyczące szczegółowych środków powinny być podejmowane na poziomie lokalnym, bo podejście jednolitego rozwiązania dla wszystkich nie sprawdziło się. Paneliści byli przedstawicielami branży przemysłowej, poza profesorem z Chorwacji. Mimo, że on był jedynym panelistą broniącym rybaków poławiających na małą skalę, kilku eurodeputowanych także podkreśliło potrzebę zróżnicowanego podejścia prawnego w stosunku do takiego rybołówstwa.

 

WIEŚCI ORGANIZACJI CZŁONKOWSKICH

 

  • Asoar Armegdze udało się wygrać walkę z ustawą o akwakulturze!

Asoar Armega, organizacja członkowska LIFE z Galicji ( http://asoararmega.es ), była członkiem platformy regionalnej, która wniosła o odrzucenie kontrowersyjnej ustawy o akwakulturze.  Wynikiem protestu było wycofanie ustawy przez szefa rządu Galicji „do czasu, gdy uzyska ona poparcie sektorowe”!

W grudniu zeszłego roku władze galisyjskie przygotowały wniosek ustawy o akwakulturze, aby przekształcić tradycyjny sektor zbierania skorupiaków w nowoczesny sektor akwakultury i sprywatyzować przybrzeżne obszary udzielając 20-letnich koncesji na akwakulturę przemysłową! Po miesiącach potyczek, protestów i strajków, w lutym bieżącego roku galicyjskiej wspólnocie udało się przekonać władze, aby wycofały wniosek ustawy, który mógłby spowodować zniszczenie tradycyjnego sposobu życia lokalnych wspólnot rybackich. (http://www.efeagro.com/noticia/galicia-anula-su-proyecto-de-ley-para-la-acuicultura/). Dzięki pracy i zaangażowaniu wspólnoty lokalnej, w marcu, władze Galicji zdecydowały  o przekierowaniu inwestycji o łącznej wartości 18 milionów euro na rzecz rybactwa tradycyjnego i sektora zbioru skorupiaków.

 

  • Zgromadzenie Ogólne Francuskiej Platformy na rzecz Rybactwa Tradycyjnego

Pierwszego marca LIFE wzięło udział w dorocznym Zgromadzeniu Ogólnym Francuskiej Platformy na rzecz Rybactwa Tradycyjnego (PPPAF – Plateforme de la Petite Pêche Artisanale Française) w Paryżu w Akwarium Porte Dorée. Kongres był okazją do przeglądu działań dot. labraksa podjętych pod koniec zeszłego roku. Pozwoliły one francuskim, brytyjskimi holenderskim rybakom poławiającym na małą skale osiągnąć całą serię korzyści płynących z grudniowego posiedzenia Rady ministrów. W szczególności:

  • Rada podjęła decyzję o 6-miesiecznym zamknięciu łowiska labraksa od stycznia do czerwca, z wyłączeniem dla łodzi poławiających za pomocą węd i sieci stawnych, dla których wprowadzono dwumiesięczny okres ochronny od lutego do marca.
  • Łodzie poławiające za pomocą węd i sieci stawnych uzyskały miesięczny limit połowu w wysokości 1.3 ton. Trawlery i inne jednostki wykorzystujące mobilne narzędzia połowowe zostały ograniczone do tony na miesiąc w czasie sezonu i do 1% labraksa z wyładowanej biomasy w sezonie ochronnym.

Biorąc pod uwagę pozytywne wyniki współpracy, obie organizacje będą kontynuowały wspólne prace w ramach kwestii dotyczących rozwiązań politycznych i inicjatyw komunikacyjnych w roku bieżącym.

  • Dyrektor LIFE z Francji członkiem jury konkursu Olivier Roelinger

Gwen Pennarun, Dyrektor LIFE z Francji i Przewodniczący Stowarzyszenia Statków Połowowych z Bretanii, był członkiem jury w konkursie Oliviera Roelingera nt. ochrony zasobów morskich, zorganizowanego przez SeaWeb Europe 23-go marca. Studenci hotelarstwa z Austrii, Belgii, Francji,  Niemiec, Irlandii, Luksemburga, Holandii, Wielkiej Brytanii i Szwajcarii przedstawili w Dinard, we Francji autorskie przepisy z ryb ze zrównoważonych źródeł. Konkurs zwiększa świadomość szefów kuchni na temat ciągłego wyniszczania zasobów morskich – młode pokolenie kucharzy będzie musiało odegrać ważną rolę chroniąc zasoby i promując zrównoważone połowy, a czasem mniej znane gatunki ( http://www.seaweb-europe.org/IMG/pdf/gb_2016_web.pdf ).

 

 WITAMY NA POKŁADZIE!

 

Poza członkami, którzy dołączyli na początku 2016 roku, Pescartes (HISZPANIA), FSK (DANIA), Rybacy z Freest (NIEMCY), IIMRO (IRLANDIA), Rybacy z Pantelleria (WLOCHY), NetVISwerk (HOLANDIA), w bieżącym miesiącu następujące organizacje stały się formalnie członkami LIFE:

 

  • Szkocka Federacja Rybaków Poławiających na Przynętę (Szkocja)

SCFF jest krajowym stowarzyszeniem handlowym zrzeszającym rybaków poławiających na przynętę. Ten tradycyjSCFFny i zrównoważony sposób przybrzeżnych połowów skorupiaków jest niezwykle ważny dla wspólnot żyjących na wybrzeżu Szkocji. LIFE wita 1200 członków SCFF i liczy na owocną współpracę w przyszłości!

 

  • Związek Zawodowy Rybaków Tradycyjnych z Langwedocji Roussillon (SPMLR – Francja)

 

Reprezentująca rybaków poławiających na małą skalę z regionu Langwedocji Roussillon, organizacja SPMLR jest silnlogo_golionym i niezależnym związkiem zawodowym współpracującym z całą serią instytucji i organizacji barażowych. Zarządza ona projektem etykietowania Golion (www.golion.fr), co pozwala na informowanie społeczeństwa o tym, jak ważną rolę odgrywają rybacy tradycyjni, a także na popularyzowanie ich wspaniałych, lokalnych i świeżych produktów. LIFE z przyjemnością wita 150 członków SPMLR, rybaków tradycyjnych, których ciężka praca powinna zostać doceniona na poziomie UE.

 

Marcowy Biuletyn Informacyjny jest krótkim przeglądem naszych działań zewnętrznych. Ponadto, personel LIFE w Wielkiej Brytanii i Hiszpanii na bieżąco odpowiada na wiele zapytań związanych z naszym sektorem i nieprzerwanie opracowuje i informuje na temat rozwiązań politycznych na rzecz rybaków i organizacji rybackich poławiających na małą skalę i o niskim wpływie środowiskowym.

Także nasi Dyrektorzy Regionalni, aktywni rybacy niskoskalowi promują wartości i korzyści płynące z rybołówstwa przybrzeżnego.

Aby dowiedzieć się więcej na temat konkretnego wydarzenia, projektu, czy inicjatywy, wyślij maila na adres:  communications@lifeplatform.eu

LIFE attends the GFCM regional conference on “Building a future for sustainable small-scale fisheries in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea”.

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Brussels, 14 march 2016

LIFE attends the GFCM regional conference on

“Building a future for sustainable small-scale fisheries in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea”.

 

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The meeting of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean, who took place from 7 to 9 March 2015, Algiers (Algeria), was attended by Brian O’Riordan, LIFE Deputy Director, and Marta Cavallé, LIFE Coordinator for the Mediterranean.

The purpose of LIFE’s participation in the meeting was to raise awareness about LIFE, its mission and objectives, to highlight the issues of importance for European small-scale low impact fishers, and to make contacts that will help LIFE and its work to become more widely recognized and supported.

Specifically, Brian O’Riordan represented LIFE in a round table discussion on the FAO’s Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Small Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines), where his input focussed on the opportunities and challenges for European small scale low impact fishers in the implementation of the reformed CFP.

The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) is a regional fisheries management organization (RFMO), and therefore plays an important role to play in fisheries governance in the region. Attending such a meeting is therefore very much in line with LIFE’s objective to “restore the health of our seas in Europe and the rest of the world”. It must be recalled that the Mediterranean faces a critical situation of overfished and depleted stocks, lack of effective management, IUU fishing, environmental degradation, and so on. DG Mare recently organized an emergency meeting on the state of stocks in the Mediterranean, and will host a ministerial fisheries meeting in Brussels of all Mediterranean states on April 27 2016.

Attending the meeting were delegations from North African countries, the European Commission (DG Mare) and the MedAC, some European delegations, North African fishers’ organizations, WWF, IUCN and various NGOs, and researchers.

One of the main themes of the meeting was supporting sustainable development of small scale fisheries through Blue Growth. “Blue Growth” aims to maximize economic returns to exploiting the seas and oceans in balance with environmental sustainability and social development. It is a new concept rooted in the Rio process on sustainable development, linked with the Green Economy. It is being widely promoted and could impact seriously on small scale fisheries. Blue Growth gives priority to those sectors with most potential for growth and economic benefits.

foto8The consultant presenting the discussion noted that fisheries are not visible in a macro-economic view of Blue Growth. There is little scope for increasing production in fisheries. As far as he was concerned, there was a need for fisheries to demonstrate how they can maximize their contribution to the economy and to growth, and to “reposition” themselves accordingly. This would require he said a) applying a “use right” system to achieve economic efficiency, and b) generating an “investible surplus” that could be invested in growth.

The next two sessions were run by WWF related projects, the first on co-management and the second on Marine Protected Areas and how their performance could be improved by the participation of small scale fisheries in their management and use. The presentations also highlighted the need for “no take zones” in the MPAs to make them more productive.

WWF has considerable relevant experience in the Mediterranean with MPAs and engaging with small scale fisheries through the MedPan project. We took contact with MedPan/WWF representatives to explore how LIFE Members could benefit from training and other support to help them to be better understood by fisheries authorities in protected areas. It was suggested to us that LIFE arrange a delegation to attend the 2nd Forum of Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean, to be held in Tangiers, Morocco from 29 November to 1 December 2016.

The fourth session discussed value chains in small scale fisheries and how to promote them in ways that enable fishers to benefit from value addition. One of the key issues facing small scale fishers is the high price their fish fetches on the market compared to the comparatively low price they receive. Various schemes were discussed, including cooperatives, training, ecolabels etc.

The final panel which Brian O’Riordan was on dealt with the FAO SSF Guidelines, and his presentation was on the Opportunities and Challenges for Small Scale Fisheries in the implementation of the CFP in Mediterranean, noting the challenges faced by Europe’s forgotten fleet, and the opportunities of Article 17, the Market regulation, EMFF and Advisory Councils.

The main conclusions from the conference are contained in a 7-page document, which proposes the establishment of a working group on small scale fisheries which LIFE could participate in. The GFCM were very positive about LIFE’s participation, and were very supportive of the idea of LIFE attending GFCM meetings.

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LIFE staff had meetings with many different people and organizations including:

Abdella Srour, Executive Secretary, GFCM.

Stefano Cataudella, Chairperson, GFCM.

Valerie Laine, DG Mare, Head of Unit for Conservation and Control in the Mediterranean.

Rosa Caggiano, Executive Secretary, MedAC.

Dr Vassiliki Vassilopoulou, Research Director, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research

Matthieu Bernardon, Fisheries Consultant to FAO and others, with considerable experience of sscf in the Mediterranean.

Giuseppe Di Carlo, Head of MPA Unit, WWF Mediterranean Programme

Julien Sémelin, Programme Officer, Mediterranean Basin Programme, MAVA Foundation.

Fabrizio De pascale, National Secretary, Italian Wokers Trade Union, Fisheries and Aquaculture

Margaux Favret, Marine Stewardship Council, Medfish project.

Hacene Hamdani, and others from the Maghrebian Artisanal Fishers’ Platform (along with other fishers from the region).

Representatives from the Spanish authorities.

 

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